Saturday, July 3, 2010
Friday, July 2, 2010
Rain
Finally! The weather forecasters have been promising me rain all week and all week I've been looking at the cloudy skies and saying, "Where is it?" This morning it finally arrived. Unfortunately, it arrived on the day that I have to drive into Houston. Typical inconvenient timing, but I'll take it nevertheless.
Looking out the windows to the garden this morning, everything looks lush and green and happy. Especially the weeds.
I've been very negligent about my garden this week. I've just been distracted by other things and haven't actually done much work out there. I'm sure my poor plants are feeling neglected but this rain will make them feel much better - and make me feel less guilty.
The rain is especially good for a couple of new plants I had added to the garden this week - a 'Blue Butterfly' clerodendron and an 'Incense' passionvine. I had stopped by Plants for all Seasons nursery on Hwy. 249 on my way back from a celebratory lunch out (an early anniversary celebration - the actual date was the 27th) last Friday and picked up those two plants that I had been wanting.
They had several others that I would have liked to get, as well, but I restrained myself. I didn't really have a plan or a place for them and it's not a good idea to let plants sit around in black plastic pots at this time of year. Maybe I'll go back later.
I hope my new plants will be happy where I've placed them and I especially hope that the Gulf Fritillary butterflies will find the passionvine to their liking. I have several of those butterflies in the garden just now and since my previous passionvines had all died out, I had nothing to offer them as nurseries for their young. With any luck, the new vine will remedy that.
Gulf Fritillary nectaring on Mexican sunflower.
The rain continues. It looks like my yard might have a wet couple of days, but I won't complain. More time for reading, which is really sort of what I wanted to do anyway.
Looking out the windows to the garden this morning, everything looks lush and green and happy. Especially the weeds.
I've been very negligent about my garden this week. I've just been distracted by other things and haven't actually done much work out there. I'm sure my poor plants are feeling neglected but this rain will make them feel much better - and make me feel less guilty.
The rain is especially good for a couple of new plants I had added to the garden this week - a 'Blue Butterfly' clerodendron and an 'Incense' passionvine. I had stopped by Plants for all Seasons nursery on Hwy. 249 on my way back from a celebratory lunch out (an early anniversary celebration - the actual date was the 27th) last Friday and picked up those two plants that I had been wanting.
They had several others that I would have liked to get, as well, but I restrained myself. I didn't really have a plan or a place for them and it's not a good idea to let plants sit around in black plastic pots at this time of year. Maybe I'll go back later.
I hope my new plants will be happy where I've placed them and I especially hope that the Gulf Fritillary butterflies will find the passionvine to their liking. I have several of those butterflies in the garden just now and since my previous passionvines had all died out, I had nothing to offer them as nurseries for their young. With any luck, the new vine will remedy that.
Gulf Fritillary nectaring on Mexican sunflower.
The rain continues. It looks like my yard might have a wet couple of days, but I won't complain. More time for reading, which is really sort of what I wanted to do anyway.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Monday, June 28, 2010
The color of summer
Orange is the color of my summer garden. It seems that almost everything that is blooming in the garden right now is a variation of that flame hot hue. Everywhere I look I see orange cannas, orange sunflowers, orange zinnias and marigolds, the red-orange of jatropha, Mexican flame vine - well, you get the idea. Orange is the dominant color of my summer blossoms.
Like most things in my garden, that wasn't planned. It just sort of happened. I like hot colors and I guess I just gravitated to all those orange flowers, but maybe people see the orange in me, too, because several of my orange-blooming plants were passalongs.
Last year, in late winter, my neighbor Virginia came over with a plastic bag full of bulbs. She called them "hurricane lilies." Well, they didn't actually resemble what I think of as hurricane lilies, but then that label has been applied to several different plants. Virginia's stand of the "lilies" had grown too thick and she was thinning them out and asked if I wanted some. Never one to turn down a free plant, I happily took the proffered bag.
I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to do with them so I ended up planting them way in the back of the yard next to the garden shed until I could come up with a better idea. A couple of the plants bloomed last summer. Pretty little things, I thought, and in the intervening months the bulbs multiplied and just about took over the bed where I had planted them. And this summer, my goodness, what a nice display they are making!
I've decided that they are some variety of crocosmia, but I'm not sure which one.
Do you know these blossoms?
Here's a close-up of one of the mature flowers.
Whatever its real name, the plant fits right in with the orange theme of my summer garden. It seems right at home here.
Like most things in my garden, that wasn't planned. It just sort of happened. I like hot colors and I guess I just gravitated to all those orange flowers, but maybe people see the orange in me, too, because several of my orange-blooming plants were passalongs.
Last year, in late winter, my neighbor Virginia came over with a plastic bag full of bulbs. She called them "hurricane lilies." Well, they didn't actually resemble what I think of as hurricane lilies, but then that label has been applied to several different plants. Virginia's stand of the "lilies" had grown too thick and she was thinning them out and asked if I wanted some. Never one to turn down a free plant, I happily took the proffered bag.
I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to do with them so I ended up planting them way in the back of the yard next to the garden shed until I could come up with a better idea. A couple of the plants bloomed last summer. Pretty little things, I thought, and in the intervening months the bulbs multiplied and just about took over the bed where I had planted them. And this summer, my goodness, what a nice display they are making!
I've decided that they are some variety of crocosmia, but I'm not sure which one.
Do you know these blossoms?
Here's a close-up of one of the mature flowers.
Whatever its real name, the plant fits right in with the orange theme of my summer garden. It seems right at home here.
Friday, June 25, 2010
You might be a garden geek...
You've probably seen some of the memes that float around the Internet from time to time - the ones that tell you that you might be a (fill in the blank) if you (fill in the other blank). They are very popular. There seems to be one to fit every occupation and every occasion.
There are several related to gardening and recently a friend passed along one that purports to tell the reader if he/she is addicted to gardening. Well, both my friend and I already know that I am addicted to gardening and I smiled in recognition as I read many of the statements. See if any of these statements describe anyone that you know.
You might be a gardening geek if...
... You always carry a shovel, bottled water and a plastic bag in you trunk in case you need to do an emergency plant rescue.
... When planning your budget, you pencil in an amount to spend on plants before you consider how much money you will have for groceries.
... You spend more time chopping up vegetables for your compost pile than for cooking.
... You'd rather go to a nursery than a clothing store to shop.
... You know that Sevin is not a number.
... You look at your child's sandbox and see a raised bed.
... On every occasion that calls for a gift, you ask for garden tools or bags of manure or mulch.
... You appreciate your Master Gardener badge more than your jewelry.
... You sneak home a 7-foot Japanese maple and wonder if your spouse will notice.
... You plan your vacation trips around locations of botanical gardens, arboreta, historic gardens, etc.
... You like the smell of horse manure better than Estee Lauder.
... You take pride in how bad your hands look.
... Soil test results actually mean something to you.
... You have to wash your hair to get your fingernails clean. (Been there, done that!)
... You know how many bags of manure, potting soil, or mulch your car will hold.
... You understand what IPM means and are happy about it.
... You buy a bigger truck so you can haul more mulch.
... You drive around the neighborhood hoping to score extra bags of leaves for your compost pile.
... Your preferred reading matter is seed catalogs.
... And finally, your neighbors don't call for the rubber-padded wagon when they see you wandering around your yard in the early morning in your pajamas, rubber clogs and carrying a cup of coffee in one hand and pruning shears in another. They just shake their heads and mutter, "Garden geek!"
There are several related to gardening and recently a friend passed along one that purports to tell the reader if he/she is addicted to gardening. Well, both my friend and I already know that I am addicted to gardening and I smiled in recognition as I read many of the statements. See if any of these statements describe anyone that you know.
You might be a gardening geek if...
... You always carry a shovel, bottled water and a plastic bag in you trunk in case you need to do an emergency plant rescue.
... When planning your budget, you pencil in an amount to spend on plants before you consider how much money you will have for groceries.
... You spend more time chopping up vegetables for your compost pile than for cooking.
... You'd rather go to a nursery than a clothing store to shop.
... You know that Sevin is not a number.
... You look at your child's sandbox and see a raised bed.
... On every occasion that calls for a gift, you ask for garden tools or bags of manure or mulch.
... You appreciate your Master Gardener badge more than your jewelry.
... You sneak home a 7-foot Japanese maple and wonder if your spouse will notice.
... You plan your vacation trips around locations of botanical gardens, arboreta, historic gardens, etc.
... You like the smell of horse manure better than Estee Lauder.
... You take pride in how bad your hands look.
... Soil test results actually mean something to you.
... You have to wash your hair to get your fingernails clean. (Been there, done that!)
... You know how many bags of manure, potting soil, or mulch your car will hold.
... You understand what IPM means and are happy about it.
... You buy a bigger truck so you can haul more mulch.
... You drive around the neighborhood hoping to score extra bags of leaves for your compost pile.
... Your preferred reading matter is seed catalogs.
... And finally, your neighbors don't call for the rubber-padded wagon when they see you wandering around your yard in the early morning in your pajamas, rubber clogs and carrying a cup of coffee in one hand and pruning shears in another. They just shake their heads and mutter, "Garden geek!"
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Have you hugged a pollinator today?
Do you enjoy eating? Then, thank a pollinator, because without these hard-working animals your choice of fare would be extremely limited. They pollinate over 75% of our flowering plants and nearly 75% of our food crops. They count among their number such animals as hummingbirds, bats, bees, beetles, butterflies, and flies. They carry pollen from one plant to another as they collect nectar. Thus, they ensure that the links of the food chain are not broken and that we and all the animals that depend on vegetation for sustenance do not starve.
Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsak has signed a proclamation designating the last full week in June as National Pollinator Week in order to draw attention to the important role that these critters play in our lives. Many state governors, including Texas' governor, signed similar proclamations, and the week is being celebrated not only in the United States but right around the world. That's as it should be, for where would we be without these guys? Hungrier, that's for sure.
Let's take a look at some of the pollinators that do the essential work of moving pollen around and ensuring the production of food.
Let's start with one that is not so cute or cuddly. Bats get a bad press among many people and yet they are VIPs - very important pollinators - in many parts of the world. Many species of bats visit flowers in darkness to lap at the nectar and eat the protein-rich pollen. Most of these species live in the tropics or subtropics, some of them in areas that are extremely food-challenged, and so their activities are very important. Bats in temperate North America, such as the Little Brown Bat in the picture, are exclusively insectivorous; thus, although they don't help pollinate our plants, they do play an important part in ridding us of harmful flying insects such as mosquitoes.
This may be our most endangered pollinator - the honeybee. The still unexplained colony collapse disorder, pesticides, and mites have destroyed large segments of the honeybee population in this and other countries. This is a serious problem because many food crops are dependent upon this pollinator. Some, like almonds, are totally dependent upon them and could not survive without them. Without the workaholic honeybee, it could indeed become a hungrier world.
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But even if all the honeybees disappeared, we would still have bees assisting in pollinating our plants. Our native bees - the honeybee, after all, is an immigrant - are among the hardest-working and most efficient of all pollinators. Bees like the bumblebee, pictured above, as well as the mason bee, sweat bee, carpenter bee and many others play a large role in getting the food to our table and they deserve our protection. Probably the most important step that we can take to protect them as well as other pollinators is to forgo the use of pesticides in our gardens.
We don't often think of flies as pollinators, but, in fact, they as well as many members of the beetle family do act as pollinators. There is an ick factor related to flies, but many of them are colorful and really quite beautiful.
There is, of course, no more beautiful or colorful group of pollinators than the butterflies, represented by this Spicebush Swallowtail. Neither is there any group of pollinators that is more beloved and more welcome in the garden. Just remember: They are insects and insects are killed by pesticides. If you want lots of these pollinators in your garden, don't use pesticides.
There's only one creature that can challenge the butterfly for the affections of gardeners everywhere and that, of course, is the hummingbird. We love to welcome these flying jewels to our yards.
As National Pollinator Week winds down, give some thought to the pollinators that visit your yard and plan how you will help them. Here are three simple suggestions:
1. Plant a pollinator garden. Consider the pollinators you want to attract and plant the plants that they need. A little research will show you what they are. In the case of butterflies, this will include both nectar plants for the adults and host plants for their caterpillars.
2. Build and hang a bee box. There are commercial nest boxes available for mason bees but you can construct a simple one using something like tubes of bamboo. These bees will utilize almost any kind of tube in which to lay their eggs.
3. Avoid or limit pesticide use. This is the most important one of all.
For those of us who like to eat, there are no more important critters than these. Let us all acknowledge that importance by supporting our local pollinators.
Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsak has signed a proclamation designating the last full week in June as National Pollinator Week in order to draw attention to the important role that these critters play in our lives. Many state governors, including Texas' governor, signed similar proclamations, and the week is being celebrated not only in the United States but right around the world. That's as it should be, for where would we be without these guys? Hungrier, that's for sure.
Let's take a look at some of the pollinators that do the essential work of moving pollen around and ensuring the production of food.
Let's start with one that is not so cute or cuddly. Bats get a bad press among many people and yet they are VIPs - very important pollinators - in many parts of the world. Many species of bats visit flowers in darkness to lap at the nectar and eat the protein-rich pollen. Most of these species live in the tropics or subtropics, some of them in areas that are extremely food-challenged, and so their activities are very important. Bats in temperate North America, such as the Little Brown Bat in the picture, are exclusively insectivorous; thus, although they don't help pollinate our plants, they do play an important part in ridding us of harmful flying insects such as mosquitoes.
This may be our most endangered pollinator - the honeybee. The still unexplained colony collapse disorder, pesticides, and mites have destroyed large segments of the honeybee population in this and other countries. This is a serious problem because many food crops are dependent upon this pollinator. Some, like almonds, are totally dependent upon them and could not survive without them. Without the workaholic honeybee, it could indeed become a hungrier world.
.jpg)
But even if all the honeybees disappeared, we would still have bees assisting in pollinating our plants. Our native bees - the honeybee, after all, is an immigrant - are among the hardest-working and most efficient of all pollinators. Bees like the bumblebee, pictured above, as well as the mason bee, sweat bee, carpenter bee and many others play a large role in getting the food to our table and they deserve our protection. Probably the most important step that we can take to protect them as well as other pollinators is to forgo the use of pesticides in our gardens.
We don't often think of flies as pollinators, but, in fact, they as well as many members of the beetle family do act as pollinators. There is an ick factor related to flies, but many of them are colorful and really quite beautiful.
There is, of course, no more beautiful or colorful group of pollinators than the butterflies, represented by this Spicebush Swallowtail. Neither is there any group of pollinators that is more beloved and more welcome in the garden. Just remember: They are insects and insects are killed by pesticides. If you want lots of these pollinators in your garden, don't use pesticides.
There's only one creature that can challenge the butterfly for the affections of gardeners everywhere and that, of course, is the hummingbird. We love to welcome these flying jewels to our yards.
As National Pollinator Week winds down, give some thought to the pollinators that visit your yard and plan how you will help them. Here are three simple suggestions:
1. Plant a pollinator garden. Consider the pollinators you want to attract and plant the plants that they need. A little research will show you what they are. In the case of butterflies, this will include both nectar plants for the adults and host plants for their caterpillars.
2. Build and hang a bee box. There are commercial nest boxes available for mason bees but you can construct a simple one using something like tubes of bamboo. These bees will utilize almost any kind of tube in which to lay their eggs.
3. Avoid or limit pesticide use. This is the most important one of all.
For those of us who like to eat, there are no more important critters than these. Let us all acknowledge that importance by supporting our local pollinators.
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